Space Technology Special Report - Version B. July 2023 - 23

Leveraging Metal 3D Printing for Manufacturing in Space
Fabrisonic
Columbus, OH
www.fabrisonic.com
D
eveloping a system to build
lightweight, efficient structures in
orbit will revolutionize space travel. It is
nontrivial and the efficiency of launch,
deployment, and employment in space
is a key objective and challenge.
Structures built for use in space must
meet vastly different requirements
than terrestrial structures. Although
temperature variations occur on
Earth, they are negligible compared
to the variations a space vehicle may
see in orbit. The force of gravity is
negligible in space while significant
on Earth. Getting any structure
engineered and manufactured on
Earth into space adds extraordinary
requirements to withstand the
loading and g-forces placed on the
structure to withstand a space launch.
The answer to that challenge is to
transport only the raw materials and
tools needed to manufacture all
the structural elements in space.
To that end, 3D printing holds much
promise. NASA already has several
plastic printers in orbit and has been
ramping up research for metal-based
systems. One promising metal-based
additive technology is Ultrasonic
Additive Manufacturing (UAM). Instead
of fusing metal powders, UAM welds
foil at (near) room temperature.
When considering manufacturing
in space, some critical considerations
must be addressed.
1. Welding in space is subject to
small gravitational forces. A small
gravitational force greatly affects the
mechanisms necessary for successful
fusion-based welding processes.
2. Welding in space has almost no
atmosphere. The lack of interaction with
gasses can cause process instability
in traditional fusion processes. Arcbased
processes require gas ionization
to function, while laser/EB processes
rely on atmospheric pressure for
developing beam keyholing.
SPACE TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT
A multi-material piston printed using the
SonicLayer 1200. This includes both aerospacegrade
aluminum for strength and copper for
thermal conductivity. (Image: Fabrisonic)
3. Welding in space requires accounting
for wild temperature variations. While
terrestrial welders can control thermal
fluctuations to within tens of degrees,
structures in space can experience
fluctuations of several hundred degrees.
4. Welding processes in space must
use significantly less power due
to limited power sources. Fusionbased
welding systems can require
hundreds of kilowatts of power to
heat and melt metal. Terrestrial power
sources can easily accommodate
such power requirements.
However, systems in space run on
extremely tight power budgets.
The fundamental characteristic
separating UAM from other metallic
additive manufacturing technologies
is that UAM is a solid-state welding
process. Metals remain in their solid
state, and melting does not occur at
any time during the process. All the
attendant impacts of high-temperature
welding and the effects on the
properties of the metal do not occur.
The results and advantages
of employing UAM in space
manufacturing include low power
consumption as most welding heads
use much less power; as a solidA
heat exchanger for a cube satellite. Most
of the component is printed from aerospacegrade
aluminum for low weight while a thin
layer of copper is added on the backplane.
(Image: Fabrisonic)
state process, the feedstock retains
97 percent of its original properties;
operates without (and with) an
atmosphere, does not require any
welding filler material; does not
cause heat-affected zones; does not
require post-process stress relieving.
The nature of the solid-state ultrasonic
bonding process used in UAM will enable
the building of space flight components
without the complexity of molten metals
or difficult-to-manipulate powders.
Several NASA programs have
contributed toward the use of UAM
for welding in space. Through Phase I
and II SBIR programs, Fabrisonic built
a welding system that met the in-orbit
manufacturing requirements. The
standard (terrestrial) Fabrisonic industrial
metal 3D printers have been in production
since 2011. They can weigh up to 35 tons
and use over 10kW of electrical power.
NASA presented these
challenges to Fabrisonic:
* Can the UAM welding assembly
be scaled down to save
power, weight, and size?
* Can a concept be designed to fit the
bounds of NASA requirements?
* Can the UAM system be remotely
controlled to build practical
structures in low-Earth orbit?
JULY 2023 23
http://www.fabrisonic.com
Space Technology Special Report - Version B. July 2023

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